Fruit-gatherer.



P. H. LINT.

FRUIT GATHEBBR. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2a. 1911.

Ptented Allg. 13, 1912.

Wl-masses prit* PETER H. LINT, OF BERKENLEY, CALIFORNIA.

FRUIT-GATHERER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 22, 1911. Serial 110.634,82?.4

Patented Aug. 13,1912.

To au whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, .ln'rnn Il'. LiN'r, a citizen ol' the United States,residing at Berkeley, in the county of Alameda and State otI California,have invented new and useful Improvements in llruit-Gatherers, of whichthe following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide a machine forgathering fruit. l

The expense of picking fruit by hand is 1n many localities so great asto determine whether any profit is to be made in growing and gatl'ieringthe fruit.

The object of my invention is to-provide a machine by which the greaterpart of this expense may be saved.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side view of the machine;Fig. w2 is a plan view thereof, broken away in part.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a rectangular open frame, securedat the rear end to an upright 2 which is connected to a fork 3, in theends of which is mounted a shaft 4 for a wheel In the front end of saidframe 1`is mounted a shaft 6 of a roller t. Pivoted on said shaft (i arebars t), which are secured, as shown at 10, to a handle 1l. Within therear portion ot' said rectangular frame is suspended, by hooks 12. abasket or receptacle 13, having handles 14, by which it may be raisedfrom said frame.

The periphery of the roller 7 is made of sheet metal, and is formed withparallel walls of teeth 15, out out of the sheet metal and extendedoutwalidlyall at the same inclination to the cylindrical surface of theroller. Mounted between upwardly extended front portions 8 of the frame1 is a shaft 16, carrying a rotary transferrer 17, having curved webs18, the edges of said webs being formed with teeth 19, which areadapted, in the rotation of the transferrer to enter between the teethof the roller. Said rotary transferrer is operatively connected to theroller by means of a series of intermeshing gear wheels 20, 21, and 22,and a pinion 23 on the shaft of said transfer cylinder, so that saidrot-ary transfcrrer rotates much more rapidly than the rollerf Saidgearing, and the spaces between 'the rows of teeth,l and the webs beingso arranged that when a. web comes into proximity to the roller, itsteeth always move between teeth f the rows, adjacent to said web, of theroller. It will be observed that the teeth of thev roller are arrangedinfsstaggered relation in adjacent rows, thus insuring -that said teethshall engage and pick up av lprune or other fruit whatever be itsposit-ion on the ground. The teeth of the webs of the transferrerarealso 1n staggered relation in adjacent rows. The gearing is suchthat, as each row of teeth passes through lthe plane bet-Ween the axesof the roller and the transferrer, one of the webs of the transferreralso passes through sald plane, but at a much more rapid rate, with itsteeth passed between the teeth of the roller, so that the fruit is takenolf from between the teeth of the roller. Said-fruit, however, is notimpaled by the teeth of the webs, since these-teeth are not` adaptedlfor impaling fruit. The fruit falls between the webs, and is thentransferred, tothe-receptacle 13. l

The following is the operation of the appaiatus as used for gatheringprunes for which purpose `it was originally devised. The prunes havingfallen or been shaken from the tree, on to the ground the machine iswheeled over said prunes and in doing 'so the prunes are eithercollected between the teeth of the roller or impaled on said teeth, andare thereby elevated, as shown in Fig. 1, into close proximity with therapidly rotating rotary transferrer. The teeth of thisl cylinder takethe prunes from the roller and transfers them to the receptacle 13. Bythis machine, therefore, the fruit can be rapidly gathered at: a veryslight expense.

The utility of this machine in prune and other orchards in Californiaand in the Paciic States generally is greatly enhanced owing to the factthat, in such localities, it is at present the general practice, beforeharvesting the fruit, to roll said orchards with a heavy roller of a tonor more in weight, and thus reduce the surface of said orchard to assmooth a condition as possible, this being done for the purpose offacilitating the picking and gathering of the fruit by hand. In suchlocalities the machine is therefore very eliicient in operation.

`1. The combination of a frame, a roller mounted thereon provided on itscylindrical periphery with teeth all extending obliquely I to thesurface of the roller and all formed at the same angle with saidsurface, a rotary transferrer mounted on the frame, an oerativeonnection between the roller anV the transferrer whereby theyrotate inopposite directions, but', the transferrer witha mow rapidcircumferential velocity than the roller7 the transferrer being providedwith circumferential projections so arranged that, in the inotion of thetransterrer, each tooth of the roller passes between two adjacentprojections.

2. The combination of a frame, a roller mounted in said frame providedwith parallei rows of teeth extending obliquely to the surface of theroller and all formed at the saine angle with said surface, atransferrer mounted on said :trame so that its periphery is in closeproximity to the periphery of the roller, an operative connectionbetween said transterrer and roller, whereby they rotate `in oppositedirections and vwith a greater peripheral speed of the transiierrer thanof the roller, the transfer-rer being torined with webs having serratededges, said webs being arranged so that the teeth of said edges passbetween adjacent teeth of the roller.

3. The combination of a frame, a roller mounted thereon and providedwith rows of teeth parallel with the axis of the roller, j

Genies of this patentrnay be obtained for said teeth, in adjacent rows,being arranged in staggered relation," said teeth all ex tendingobliquely to the surface of the roller -a`nd all formed at the saineangle with said surface, a transferrer rotatably mounted upon said frameformed with webs having i serrated edges, spaced farther apart than therows of teeth, the teeth of adjacent webs being likewise arranged instaggered relation to each other, an operative -connection between saidroller and transferrer,`whereby they revolve in opposite directions butthe transferrer with a greater peripheral velocity than 'the roller .andso that each tooth of t-he transferrer, in the rotation of the latter,passes between adjacent teeth of the roller.

In testimony whereof I have hereuntoset my hand 1n the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

' PETER H. LNT.

Witnesses:

F. M. WRIGHT, D. B. RICHARDS.

five cents each, byaddressing the Gommissiner of Eatents, Washington, D.C.

Li (l

